


recovery

by Zekkass



Category: Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers Generation One
Genre: Canon Compliant, Character Study, Gen, Post-Canon Fix-It
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-27
Updated: 2020-03-27
Packaged: 2021-02-23 09:30:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,041
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23342674
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zekkass/pseuds/Zekkass
Summary: Lord Megatron’s condition declines.Here Shockwave falters, emotional circuits warring with logic. Emotions dictate that Lord Megatron could never fail. After millennia hedidreturn, alive and with the promised reservoirs of power. Hedidcontrive a way to move Cybertron great distances to a young star. Energon continues to pour in, and despite the efforts of the Autobots, they hold the line.Yet he is declining.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 25





	recovery

**Author's Note:**

> Here is roughly 4k of a fic I started to resolve my problems with G1. It answers the fundamental question: why are the Decepticons morons in G1? Why does Megatron get more violent with his own allies, and go for stupider and stupider plans?
> 
> Then, because I can't help myself, the fic tries to expand itself by answering: what happens once they're recovered and ready to resume activities? So it "ends" with them beginning an operation to kidnap Optimus and Cliffjumper, as I have more questions I wanted answered.
> 
> I never finished it. I never wrote that kidnapping. This fic has been sitting around for almost a year now, which is frustrating because the core of it is done. I answered what I wanted, and it's done. So, readers: here you go. Forgive me the lack of ending. Forgive me the lack of sequel. But please enjoy the majority of it, which is all about Decepticon high command and how much they care about each other.

Shockwave hasn’t spent the millennia idle. When their last reserves of power truly did run dry, his forces were ready: essential machines and mechs were underground. The acid rains came and swept nothing but empty shells away, scouring cities clean. Kaon was first, the vagaries of weather unpredictable as ever. Iacon was last - that Shockwave knew of, his reach not planet-wide. If cities on the other side of Cybertron were spared - well, he found out when there was power again. His seekers brought back information, desolation. No city was spared, no settlement, no base. All that was left of some major metropolises were small square prefabs. Others were sturdier - the Sonic Canyons held out, best they could, but without power?

If the Decepticon cause ever permits, it would be edifying to visit places such as the Canyons to pick over the shells and find out what and who can survive - if anything can without resorting to stasis.

He hadn’t avoided stasis, after all, even with the might of the Decepticon empire behind him: power brought by lone agents from off-world was meager compared to the need, and solar collectors can only do so much when Cybertron roams far from any star. Yet the empire survived, as did he: and he held Iacon when Elita-One’s forces reawoke. There is a percentage of blame to be assigned to him for their survival: that he could not find their collectors or their stasis pods. When Lord Megatron guided Cybertron to a new star, a young star, power began to flood in, soon surpassing the shipments from Earth. Still not enough, of course, Cybertron is a large planet and revival will take thousands of years yet - but life returns. Elita-One’s forces hunt Iacon’s underworld, his seekers once again control the skies, and if not for the war on Earth, Shockwave would reign as the busy master of Cybertron.

The war does not go well. Even if the humans remain studiously neutral, lending only minor aid to the Autobots, there is a deeper problem hindering the Decepticon cause.

Lord Megatron’s condition declines.

Here Shockwave falters, emotional circuits warring with logic. Emotions dictate that Lord Megatron could never fail. After millennia he _did_ return, alive and with the promised reservoirs of power. He _did_ contrive a way to move Cybertron great distances to a young star. Energon continues to pour in, and despite the efforts of the Autobots, they hold the line.

Yet he is declining.

Every Decepticon stationed on Earth, revived from their millennia dead, is declining. Starscream is only the most obvious, his betrayals growing more flamboyant every month. Desperation drives him, and soon there will be no choice but to terminate him.

More minor examples: Soundwave has become reticent. Ever loyal and busy, yet their personality fades. Fascination with Earth’s culture had been a key feature in their correspondence. Now every word is strained, speaking of problems far deeper than another loss to the Autobots.

Astrotrain and Blitzwing bring separate, privately requested reports, as do the Coneheads. Shockwave cannot visit Earth, restrained by his duty and his loyalty to Megatron, yet.

Yet something is wrong, and something must be done.

//

Starscream’s betrayals reach their limit, and here he is: restrained to an operating table, metal restraints extended over his wings, his hands magnetized so his clever fingers cannot find an escape.

Shockwave stands over him, watching him hiss.

“I refuse this,” Starscream says, his voice warped into higher registers. A side-effect? Shockwave will find out. “You can’t _do_ this to me!”

“This is not a dissection,” Shockwave assures him. He moves to the side console, plugging himself in with deft movements. With a direct connection he can finely manipulate the scanners and their placement, as well as the operating table’s arms that will remove armor and other blocks.

Starscream does not appreciate the pain-blocking feed that’s inserted into one of his medical ports on his wrist.

Now he is lying: “Bruticus coerced me! Onslaught forced me to work with him! I was only trying to return to Lord Megatron’s good graces, I didn’t realize - “

The Starscream Shockwave knows doesn’t wheedle and lie like this. This is stupidity, because anyone with functional logical circuits can see through the lies, and anyone with functional emotional circuits knows that this is the way to irritation, not mercy.

“I hypothesize that you are no longer in control of yourself or your actions,” Shockwave says as his scanners slide into place and work.

Starscream seizes upon this: “Yes, yes. That’s it entirely! I wasn’t in control, that’s why I attacked you. You understand, good, won’t you release me?”

Shockwave ignores this, optic locked on the flow of coding being displayed. Comparisons to his seekers are inevitable: the basic Seeker framework laid in, the gift for understanding flight, the urge to trine, because lone seekers are shot out of the sky.

Almost immediately holes appear, then damage, then corruption. What should be straightforward programs aren’t.

Physically, Starscream is fine. His systems scans report a healthy frame, and the programming for controlling it is intact. He is as much a terror in the skies as he ever has been, and Shockwave appreciates that he is bound.

Mentally, his logic circuits have been criss-crossed so many times that it’s a wonder they function at all. Identification seems to have been doubled, except where it’s granted random identities new designations and factions. Shockwave can see where sheer will has damaged normal loops, and untangling this from the emotional tags would be totally inefficient.

Tracing the root of this damage takes time. Starscream begins to screech as he realizes what Shockwave’s looking at, and Shockwave ignores the sound, lowering the volume on his audials.

Emotionally - the root of this damage being emotional seems unlikely, but Shockwave checks, to the extent of his abilities. Emotions, and emotional tags, are borne from the spark - at least, that is what they’re attributed to, instead of unexplained chaos. Shockwave hasn’t tested this, but his theory is simple: the spark harmonizes and resonates, which is how it imprints a basic personality upon their receptive cranial units. This extends to strange harmonies that produce strange emotions later on. Crude, but it as good an explanation as any - spark transplants, after all, produce a mech with a similar personality and no memories. Not that Shockwave has seen this procedure done more than twice.

Preliminary spark scans show no damage, and Starscream’s screeching changes in pitch, for no reason that Shockwave can discern. These scans are non-invasive, and he isn’t yet willing to open up Starscream’s canopy to peer within.

Suffice it to say that Starscream’s emotional centers are even more violently damaged than his logic circuits. Shockwave takes a moment to admire the strength of Starscream’s mental structure, that it could remain intact under this kind of assault.

Curiosity requests that he spend time examining just how twisted a mech could become without tipping over into full madness. Duty drives him onwards, seeking an answer.

The damage is deeper, and at this point Starscream stops his noise, optics unfocused.

Base coding is almost never examined, nearly as sacrosanct as the spark. It defines ultimate, unchangeable flaws. It contains the imprinted personality borne from the spark (if Shockwave’s theory is true) and it is the distilled essence of a mech. Altering even a single unit has drastic consequences. It is the ultimate violation of privacy, of course - looking at a spark, even scanning it will tell a mech little. But this?

Starscream was coded to betray others. Unsurprising, if cruel. Base coding afflictions are rare, usually integrated into the personality. Shockwave’s curiosity, for example - hardly an affliction, but a part of his fundamental personality.

But betrayal - that shapes the personality, creates unnatural urges that defy logic.

Starscream would kill him for changing that line, as would every other mech Shockwave knows. A pity, given how easy it would be.

The answer reveals itself near the end of Starscream’s personality, where their warbuild coding goes.

Warbuild coding, civilian coding - an oddity that seems illogical, a divide that Shockwave would like to resolve someday. One of the holy grails of every mech who understands the question: it seems to be a fifty percent chance upon sparking that any - any! - given mech will become a warbuild or a civilian. Ill-fitting labels, given that civilians can be tanks, and fight as well as warbuilds - but the general theme of the coding divide is, warbuilds are prepared to make war. Civilians are prepared to defend.

Someone or something has added a line to this coding, creating a quantum state to the coding. Starscream is a warbuild and a civilian and neither, and this... explains everything.

All logic, all personality stems from here. And depending on when this edit was made, Starscream has been in this quantum state for _years,_ attempting to follow the dual dictates of the coding.

Logically, as a warbuild, he has loyalty to the faction that understands the truth of the universe: aliens are strange, cruel and uncaring.

Logically, as a civilian, he cannot remain loyal to a faction that will not look for a way to preserve all life, equally.

Hence the disturbance as his betrayal finds new ways to pry him away from Megatron, and the faction that has always understood and forgiven. Hence the disturbance as he fights himself, unknowingly.

Shockwave unplugs and steps away from the scan, inducing stasis in Starscream at last.

He’ll place the seeker into storage until he has resolved the root of the problem.

//

“Lord Megatron.” Shockwave greets his lord with a bow, excessively cautious now that Megatron is here, and he cannot reverse his plan.

Megatron is, as always, outwardly perfect. Straight lines, sharp corners, his glaring red optics - no one can find fault with his construction.

“Shockwave. This had better be important.”

“It is,” Shockwave says, gesturing and falling into step with Megatron as he moves. “I have discovered the primary cause of Starscream’s erratic behavior.”

One room to another. The atmosphere scrubbers are working with their faint whispers, sterilizing all traces of Earth. Nothing in Earth’s atmosphere is directly dangerous, but it wouldn’t be prudent to take chances.

“Good. As foolish as he is, I still have use for him.”

Another alarming change: millennia ago, Starscream was not described as _foolish._

Shockwave advances his plan: “I have discovered a virus set in his logic circuits. There is a risk that it is contagious.”

“A virus! Where did it come from?”

Megatron whirls to look him in the optic, seizing upon the possibility of an enemy with his characteristic focus - and uncharacteristic blindness.

“Earth,” Shockwave says. “I believe - “

“The Autobots are the only ones capable of concocting such a scheme,” Megatron says, and that is the sickening confirmation Shockwave needed.

As Megatron turns to go back the way they came, Shockwave raises his arm and fires directly into the base of Megatron’s neck. His aim has never been more precise, and Megatron’s angered gasp hurts him to his very core.

It’s done. Megatron drops to his knees, turning his head with stuttering motions to glare at Shockwave, surprise evident in his field - not once had he contemplated betrayal from _this_ corner - and everything dims as he collapses.

Shockwave picks him up, slinging his lord’s frame over his shoulder as he hurries to his primary laboratory.

It is fortunate that active consciousness is not required for the preliminary scans: Shockwave cannot be sure that his restraints would hold Megatron. Strength alone couldn’t break them, but Megatron has far more tricks than that to play in the event of capture.

Cables in position, Shockwave once again sets up the flow of code.

How long has it been since he was allowed this? Not that it was unrestricted, unsupervised or this deep.

Physically Megatron is unmarked, all system scans coming up clean. Credit Hook’s work - Shockwave expected to find evidence of Megatron’s brief submersion in molten magma. Shockwave makes a note to ask Hook later if he found anything to repair after that, or if his initial construction held. Likely the latter.

The pattern holds: the logic centers are a mess. A different mess than Starscream’s snarl - unaligned, with Megatron’s typical focus scattered. _Multiple_ priority trees, with redundant entries, strange triggers to activate them. In this state, predicting Megatron would be impossible, and Shockwave carefully catalogs the maze of connections for future study.

It seems like the conflicting demands of his base coding provoked a divide in priority trees, with the evolving situation forcing new trees and measures. Even combat routines have been affected, with a perverse guard in place: no lethal blows. None!

The guard had been present in Starscream, but here it is truly disquieting. Shockwave spares a second to look at Megatron’s faceplate, emotion winning out over the demands of his work.

Those sharp lines, slack in stasis. The Autobots must not have known, or else the war would have been lost, utterly. Such an advantage - humiliating.

Shockwave gets back to work, confirming similar chaos in Megatron’s emotional circuits. Different from Starscream’s wildly varying urges, but with the same catastrophic effect: due to the frustration of trying to carry out those priority trees, Megatron’s anger had been elevated. Irritation, impatience - yes. It all fits his behavior.

Shockwave moves into the base coding without preamble, focused on his mission.

Yet each line is of special importance: this is what defines his lord, and he cannot erase the file from his memorybanks. No. Knowing that Megatron’s prime directive is to Protect the Decepticons?

He collects that, knows that it is correct.

The offending line isn’t far away. The quantum state persists, and now Shockwave accepts the potential consequences of what must be done: he alters the line, resolves the paradox in the warbuilds’ favor.

That done, he commits two more crimes and resets Megatron’s emotional centers, temporarily placing them in a neutral position until he next boots up and begins to think and feel again. His logical centers are next, and this is more invasive: Shockwave wipes the priority trees, the strange tangles, the hacks and damage. Megatron will have to rebuild this manually, and Shockwave inserts a simple priority tree, meant to decay over time: gain information, make decisions, repeat.

Shockwave undoes the restraints, prepares to disconnect, and runs Megatron’s boot-up sequence.

By the time Megatron’s optics flash, Shockwave is a respectful distance from the table.

//

Numbers dominate his vision, signs of a catastrophic injury. Megatron has always preferred diagrams, switches, _visual_ interfaces. Numbers are the purest form of their programming.

Stripped of context they mean nothing. He forces his optics online, demanding context for his own damage. Physical scans report no damage. He does not remember the recent past, not clearly.

“Shockwave.” His loyal servant waits halfway across the room. Expecting trouble, then? His weapons are ready at a thought; Megatron gets up. “Report.”

Shockwave salutes.

“You were glitched, my lord. Drastic measures were necessary to repair you, and I will have to duplicate these measures for the rest of the Decepticons once I confirm the presence of the same glitch.”

A pause, and Megatron narrows his optics. He can access his most recent memories now - the glitch must have destroyed his emotional tagging system - and Shockwave was moved to attack him.

“My Lord,” Shockwave says, clearly hesitating.

“Report.” Cold, clear - stop stalling, Shockwave.

“The glitch originated in your base coding,” Shockwave says, and hurries to explain: “Because of it, your emotional banks became chaotic, along with your logical circuits. The initial effects were subtle, but as the damage accumulated you became more erratic. There is a 90% chance that it exists in the rest of command. I have confirmed its presence in Starscream.”

That last sentence comes from Shockwave unwillingly, and without moving it is clear that Shockwave has braced himself for violence.

Megatron watches him as he thinks, reviewing memories. Shockwave’s information provides a framework - and suspicion shifts into understanding, and then anger.

“Tell me what was changed in my base coding. Precisely.”

“A quantum state,” Shockwave says. “Warbuild or Civilian.”

“I’m familiar with the line,” Megatron says, fury building. “The Decepticons carrying this glitch consist of Starscream, Soundwave, Rumble, Frenzy, Laserbeak, Buzzsaw, Ravage, Reflector, Thundercracker, and Skywarp. Have you repaired Starscream yet?”

“I have not,” Shockwave says. There’s that hesitation again, a hovering question.

“Teletraan-1,” Megatron answers. “That infernal computer of the Autobots. Its systems repaired us after the crash. I doubt this sabotage was intentional, given that it was wholly focused on repairs.”

It saved the life of every Autobot on that ship. Knowing or unknowing Teletraan-1 destroyed the efforts of the Decepticons for years, until this - he will have to readdress the fate of the Combaticons. He will have to reassess every single one of his decisions made since their arrival on Earth.

He starts with Shockwave, and the knowledge that Shockwave of all mechs accessed his base coding and changed it.

Shockwave is afraid of him because of that glitch, and Megatron understands now that he would have turned on his most loyal and destroyed them for daring to defy him.

Well.

“I owe you my life,” Megatron tells Shockwave freely, as he has before. “As does Starscream - but he will wait. We must summon Soundwave.”

“My Lord,” Shockwave says, crossing his chest with his arm and bowing. “It has been so long.”

There is some new emotion in his field, and Megatron crosses to clasp his shoulder. It is not normal for Shockwave to let emotions interfere with his duties, but then this glitch has played a cruel trick on his most loyal.

“I am here, Shockwave.”

After millions of years, he is finally present and whole. Shockwave responds with gratitude and adoration, shown openly - honed to a fine edge by all of those years alone. His hand grips Megatron’s arm, and for the moment they share their emotions freely. Loyalty and gratitude and love, and Megatron will never betray Shockwave’s trust.

Duty calls.

“We must repair the others,” Megatron says, as otherwise he would willingly find his way to Shockwave’s private quarters.

“Yes.” Shockwave understands. Soundwave will understand. Starscream will not, which is why he will be repaired last.

//

Starscream’s sanity returns in a rush, every mistake he’s made since he was rebuilt a screaming siren in his head. Megatron’s standing at the end of the medical berth, red optics boring a hole into his head.

Megatron doesn’t execute what he can use; that’s no guarantee after this kind of treachery.

“So,” Starscream rasps, sitting up and shoving Shockwave back with a free arm. No restraints. He’s dead. “Is this where I fall down begging for forgiveness, Megatron? I’ll call myself stupid and pledge loyalty to you, and you’ll let me live?”

Of course not. Megatron’s arms are crossed, his mouth a thin line.

“You still need me,” Starscream says, betraying himself. He can’t even stop himself from the begging. At least it’s not the pathetic sniveling it was when he was glitched three ways to the Pit. “Our numbers are still too few, and the Autobots can use those humans against us.”

Easily manipulated organic waste, and it reproduces too fast to ignore. He remembers the Nightbird, and if the humans can build one they can build more. All it took was what, two solar rotations before they had it up and running?

The humans are the real threat, and if Megatron can’t see that he’s a fool.

“I do,” Megatron says. Starscream stops in mid-motion, unable to look away from how Megatron’s mouth curves in a grim smile. “Count yourself lucky your treachery never led to anything more than a setback.”

If he had succeeded in killing Megatron, it would have been a waste on both their parts. But why say that?

“Soundwave’s aim isn’t as steady as mine,” Starscream says, rising from the medical berth. He feels as good as he did when he was first reformatted, all fresh systems and power.

Maybe he should start asking questions, such as _what happened?_ and _who do we kill?_

He looks at Megatron and smirks, confident now that Megatron can see his value.

Megatron seizes him by the neck, dragging him close, staring down at him with those piercing optics. Is he supposed to beg _now?_

“Starscream,” Megatron says, and the fear that lances through Starscream is total, erasing the arrogant confidence he wreathes himself in. His panels strain to open, and he keeps his mouth closed through pure effort. One word, one _gesture_ and Megatron can reduce him so thoroughly - there could be hatred, except that _Megatron needs him._

“Need is not the same as want,” Megatron goes on. “Your subordinates hate you. Your creations tried to seize Cybertron for themselves, and forced us into a truce with the Autobots. Tell me, Starscream - how do I justify trusting you with your rank?”

As he speaks his grip gets tighter, deliberately squeezing the tubes that run to Starscream’s vocalizer. There can be no answer except submission.

“There is no point in destroying you,” Megatron says, and he’s closer now. “But demotion would spur you better than any threat could. You are going to restore your subordinate’s trust in you. You are going to make the Combaticons useful to me. Do this, or Shockwave will become my Second in your place.”

Better to say nothing. Better to stare back into those optics and dare Megatron to crush his throat.

Megatron drops him, the floor meeting his knees with a hard sound, and Starscream rubs his cables, still glaring up at Megatron.

“I’m stupid, I’m stupid,” Starscream mocks. “Feel any better, o mighty Megatron?” He rises, spreading his wings. “You’ve lost your touch. Since when would you reassign Shockwave away from Cybertron? Since when would you let _him_ fire you?” It’s not about the aim.

Starscream stabs a clawed finger into Megatron’s chest. “This is why I tried to overthrow you! Instead of setting us at each other in petty squabbles over rank, lead us!”

Instantly Megatron barks a laugh, seizing his hand and bringing it to his lips.

“We have a short window to act before the Autobots realize that we’ve changed. Their defenses are lax, their expectations set,” Megatron releases his hand, a confident smirk in place of that flat glare. “We are going to capture Optimus Prime.”

//

And one other: Megatron summons Soundwave, as it will be primarily his operation.

“Two targets,” he explains. “Optimus Prime and Cliffjumper.”

“That’s more than you told me,” Starscream cuts in. His arms are crossed, his expression sour. “Why bother with the minibot?”

Intelligent doubt from Starscream - Megatron feels a frisson of positive reinforcement. It is _good_ to have Starscream functional again.

“We assumed the Autobots were terminated,” Megatron says. It is no longer Starscream’s fault that they weren’t - their quantum coding was to blame. “They held the supreme advantage over us until Cliffjumper’s shot strayed. _Why did he miss?”_

Unlike simple automatons they can think, feel, and extrapolate disaster from a set of circumstances. Yet even an Autobot would not have shaky hands in such a crucial moment. Cliffjumper’s miss _had_ to have been on purpose.

A traitor, or something else? Finding out adds another objective to the mission, but it doesn’t reduce its chances of success - in fact it increases those odds, sowing confusion in the Autobot ranks.

“Plan: myself, capture Optimus. Ravage: captures Cliffjumper. Megatron: leads diversionary assault?”

Soundwave has the core of it.

“Yes,” Megatron confirms, and Soundwave projects a hologram of the Autobot’s base. It’s blown up so they can pinpoint specific rooms, and so the three of them set to discussing the best way to execute this plan.

The Combaticons are out for obvious reasons. The Stunticons lack the discipline for a retreat at the correct time, and would risk themselves. Thrust, Ramjet and Dirge will be required along with Starscream’s trine, given the presence of the Aerialbots and Powerglide. Astrotrain and Blitzwing are in, and the Constructicons are out.

Down the list, until they’re satisfied with who will be placed where, and the timing. Soundwave departs to obtain necessary tools from Shockwave, and Megatron and Starscream depart together to address their troops.

Satisfaction lingers, sheer joy over sanity and working relationships.

//


End file.
